Video Warrior
by Ms Western Ink
Summary: She didn't care about the stupid costume, she wanted the money, the game... Aoshi? AxM


Video Warrior

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**Challenges: 19, 21, 29, 45, 46

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"**_Wait a minute_!"** she cried, stomping toward the video store. "I _am_ trying to sell videos!"

The man gave her a sour look and she frowned even deeper. "We are not paying you to mock our store!" he snapped, pushing his heavy framed glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "Makimachi-san, please tone down your advertising or we will fire you."

She grumbled, spun on her heel and waddled out of the store in her giant foam costume of a videocassette. She looked like a geek but she didn't care because she needed the money. She was going to buy that new game **Cloud 9** if it killed her. She had to have it, had to. It had her name practically written on it already. Only lack of funds was holding her up and preventing her from immersing herself in her favorite game world.

Outside the video store once again in the **chaos** of the mall, she peered around. Plenty of people, she just had to get them in the store to buy some stuff so she could get paid and get out of the stupid suit. It was only a two-day job; they were celebrating the opening of the new store.

"Get your video's here! Brand **new releases**! All star casts! We have movies, we have **games**, and we have candy bars, _buy now_!"

Misao took a discrete glance behind her to see that her temporary boss, Takasumi was busy with a customer. At least then he wasn't hounding her.

"Do you like sad movies? Come cry with us! Do you like horror? Let us terrify you! Here at the brand new- Planet Video Store!"

Another glance back revealed that Takasumi was watching her and glowering. What was she supposed to do, stand there and wave to people? She was _trying_ to sell videos! She growled lowly and turned back around. Maybe she should talk to some customers?

She spotted a group of young people on a bench a few feet away and decided they were as good a group as any.

"Gentlemen! Are you interesting in buying a video? We have all kinds of videos. Sano, what kinds of video's do you like?" she stared up at him. They seemed kind of shocked at her approach. The odd ball group of young teenagers, younger than herself, was glancing around them. Was she embarrassing them? She grinned.

One guy crossed his arms and frowned at her. "What the hell are you?"

"I am a video," she replied, her voice dry. "Doesn't the costume kind of give that away?"

"What kind of video?"

"What kind do you want me to be? We have all kinds at Planet Video!" she grinned. "You want to buy one? Grand opening sale!"

They all exchanged glances and Misao frowned. "Well fine, no video's for you." She turned a glance back to see Takasumi was absent from the store front, probably browsing the aisles with a customer. Leaving them, she looked for another potential customer.

Twenty-five minutes later she was milling around with a frown on her lips. The crowds hadn't thinned but she'd gotten kicked by a little kid, yelled at, and rudely told that she was a "boring video". It had thoroughly dimmed her enthusiasm for working, even if it was only two days of horror.

In ten minutes, she would be released from her job and allowed to leave for the day and she was anticipating it. She couldn't wait to get away from these people. So, she stood by the door in her geeky outfit and glumly waved. Few people waved back, even fewer smiled, and a few of the ruder teenagers pointed and laughed. When the time finally came, releasing her from her, she was exhausted and on the brink of depressed.

She slipped into the back at just after four in the afternoon and gratefully stripped out of her hot, hot costume. Straightening her clothes and hair, she took a deep breath and again braved the video store. Takasumi was right outside, his arms closed, his square glasses low on his nose. He pushed them up as he turned to face her.

"Here you go, Makimachi-san. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow at seven." He held out a prim white envelope and she took it.

Money!

"Yes, Sir," she replied sedately. Not even the joy of money was enough to bring a smile to her face. She needed to get out of this place. Quickly, she escaped into the mall crowds. She wouldn't have to come back for hours.

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A semi-relaxing afternoon, a good night's sleep and _not_ enough money to buy her game, Cloud 9, did not make Misao enthusiastic about returning to Planet Video. She arrived early to change and met Takasumi at the door. There was just the slightest bit of approval from her uppity boss at her arriving on time. 

"Your costume is in back, Makimachi-san."

She decided to just nod and follow directions. Escaping into the backroom, she changed quickly and then waddled through the aisles trying not to knock any of the cassettes off the racks.

"Hey! Makimachi!"

She knew that voice, she thought as she turned in her bulky costume toward it. That sounded so much like…

"Hey! Don't ignore me! Come here, sell me a video!"

Was that … Sagara Sanosuke from her school? She turned fully and laid her eyes upon the tall, lanky, _waving_ figure. Someone should put _him_ in a suit, she thought. He was _beyond_ embarrassment.

Just as she was about to waddle over and yell at him for drawing so much attention to her, she noticed he wasn't alone. Three or four of his friends were with him including the school hotties: Shinomori Aoshi and Yukishiro Enishi. How exactly he had made and _remained_ friends with those two beautiful ice blocks, she couldn't be sure. If she said Shinomori Aoshi was dreamy with those inky locks and pretty eyes, would she sound like a besotted twelve year old, she wondered?

She was contemplating ignoring him when he yelled again.

"MAKIMACHI!"

On second thought, she should shut him up before someone called security. Takasumi would definitely blame that on her, definitely. She would just have to swallow her humiliation.

Making her way over to the group lounging on a bench near a fountain, she glared. "What do you want, freakazoid?"

He lounged back on the bench, pleased he had her attention. Sano lived to argue with her, he must, he did nothing else. She barely got through the day without seeing him four times and they were in separate classrooms down the hall from one another.

She sneaked a glance at the others to see Shinomori and Yukishiro were expressionless and Himura was smiling softly.

"Good morning, Makimachi-san," he greeted. "I see the new video store has opened," he offered diplomatically.

She returned the gesture. They didn't get along fantastically but Himura Kenshin was a nice guy. She nodded. "It's pretty nice."

She didn't dare say she'd never go in the place as long as she lived while wearing this costume, Sano would tell on her and Takasumi would freak out.

"I'm the freakazoid? I don't keep ending up with whacky jobs in the mall involving huge foam costumes," Sano shot back.

"This isn't a charity event! They're _paying_ me to do this, what do _I_ care what _you_ think about it? I am a _video warrior!" _

His grin widened. "You ought to get a felt hat and put it out by the front of the store and then dance around. You could make some good money."

She huffed. "You're lucky I'm working right now or I'd punch you in the face," she hissed.

Making her way back to the store front, she just barely heard his parting words.

"Go, Makimachi! Shake that video ass!"

She spun around and glowered at him with faintly flushed cheeks. "I hope you die, Sano."

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The crowds ebbed in slowly. Around noon and thereafter the people began to positively _flow_ into the place. Huge groups of school girls, boys, businessmen, it was a fascinating array. 

By lunch, she had managed to be dodged 27 times by people she tried to talk to, yelled at once by an irritated girl who called her an "ugly foam head", and told to "get a real job" by a middle aged man who hadn't wanted to be disturbed from his cell phone call. She was thoroughly discouraged.

Presently standing beside a huge poster display of some shapely anime woman. Misao glanced at the caption, "Zooki: Magical Warrior Princess". She rolled her eyes. That was lame. Although… she glanced at the girl again.

She might've drawn more customers if she was wearing Zooki's battle costume with a magical scepter… Misao looked away.

No, that was definitely lame.

She stood straighter. Maybe she should try dancing? Maybe she could do a little video jingle on the fly? She was a creative girl! Did she really want to humiliate herself by singing? No, better not.

Maybe she could try promoting video games? She glanced back to see that Takasumi was absorbed with straightening shelves. Misao yawned. This was boring…

"Hey… Takasumi-san?"

Her strict manager turned toward her and straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Makimachi-san?"

"Maybe I could get more people if I walked around or something?"

"I don't think so," he answered primly. "That costume is being rented and your attention wanders. Please stay close to the storefront."

Her attention wandered?

The costume was being rented?

Like… like… was he suggesting she would STEAL it? This ugly this! Or was he suggesting she'd RUIN it? She growled under her breath. One day someone would get ticked off at him and rip his lungs out or something.

After her lunch break she paced back and forth in front of the store. Occasionally she bobbed around on her feet, swaying slightly. She waved to children and smiled and dragged her way through the afternoon.

By three o'clock she had come to be planted next to the Zooki cut-out, waving, her face frozen in a smile. Takasumi's presence next to her was unnoticed until he spoke to her.

"That's it, Makimachi-san."

She blinked, paused, and whirled to face him. "You're firing me?"

He straightened his glasses. "No, your shift is over. It was pleasant working with you."

The words were more formality than anything else, as she was certain he had not liked working with her at all. She just nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to change then."

He didn't say anything to stop her so she considered herself home free. Once inside the back room she stripped off the hot uniform and fanned herself with a hand. Whoo… sweaty.

She sniffed herself. At least she didn't stink…

Turning about, she stepped out into the store and made her way to the door. She was only moments away from her game.

Cloud 9!

Cloud 9!

She would gladly disappear into her room with her game system for the next week. Grinning she spotted Takasumi at the register with a customer and in a surprising show of patience, she waited silently. When he finally turned his eyes to her, he held out her white envelope and she cheered.

"Yes! Cloud 9!"

Her former employer said nothing.

"Thanks, Takasumi-san."

She passed out the open doorway of Planet Video, waved to Zooki, Magical Warrior Princess and headed toward her favorite game store on the lower level. She had made it just past the sprawling food court when she noticed a person in dark clothing standing beside a clothing outlet. The face was too familiar… A face she'd never forget, the inky hair, the blue eyes… She quickly looked away and ducked herself behind a crowd to sneak by him.

She thought she was successful and momentarily forgot about the guy entirely when she saw her favorite game store in front of her.

"Are you through being a video warrior?"

There was no jest in the tone. It was more of a flat monotone, so deadpan it made her wonder if the guy behind her had really taken her seriously when she made that remark. She should come with a disclaimer, she thought. It would really cut down on the misunderstandings… Misao paused and then turned expecting to see the entire group of guys from school behind her. She thought of them semi-fondly as "Sano & company."

A group of guys behind her _wasn't_ what she found. Rather, she was face to face with Shinomori Aoshi. The mall crowds shifted and roiled around them. She felt like she was in a sea of people and she and Shinomori were rocks in the flow.

"Uh… "What did he want? She shifted awkwardly on her feet. "Didn't you say…?"

The last time she'd seen him had been days ago. Before the job. They'd spent the afternoon walking along the river, alone, pretty much with her doing all the talking. He seemed to prefer it that way. He just… he just wasn't that affectionate of a guy really. Her closet friendship/relationship with Shinomori Aoshi was as much a mystery to her as it was to all the people they were keeping it a secret from.

She thought maybe he was ashamed of her. She was a little rambunctious and bounced around a lot, but she couldn't think of anyone that really didn't like her… So why keep it a secret? They weren't dating… were they? How did one tell with him?

"I've changed my mind," he stated.

"Okay." She nodded. "About what?"

"I don't think we should be a secret."

That was promising. Did that mean they _were_ secretly, previously secretly dating, or did he mean that they were friends? Ugh.

"Okay," she agreed. "Was… that it?"

She wasn't normally so eager to get away from him. He was, at varying times and degrees, the center of her universe. But Cloud 9… brand new… right behind her… Her money was burning a hole in her pocket.

OH!

"Ah, you want to play with me?" her eyes lit like fireworks. "Have you played any of the Cloud Series games?"

She wondered, briefly, if he'd _ever_ played a video game. He really didn't seem like the type…

"Is that where you're going?"

How could he be so _calm!_ She nodded, bouncing on her feet. "If I go in here and they're sold out, I'll kill something." She grinned madly. "Come on!"

Grabbing his hand, she literally dragged him into the store and began to voraciously search the shelves. Two entire display cases later, her excitement was giving way to panic and then heartbreak. It felt like the floor had fallen out from beneath her feet when she saw the tiny white sticker labeled "Cloud 9" and saw the shelf empty.

"NO!"

"I'm sorry, we ran out of those yesterday." She looked up to see a salesman beside her. "We expect to get more before mid-week."

"Mid-week," she repeated. "But I have money _now…_Ugh…"

Her entire day, her entire weekend… blown. She could've screamed but the disappointment squished the energy right out of her. How she'd managed to forget about Shinomori kind of amazed her until he took her hand in his and began leading her from the store. She glumly followed. What difference did it make anyway?

Once outside, he led her through the crowds, still holding her tiny hand in his. Forgetting about her game disappointment, she contemplated him. Why was he holding her hand? Were they actually dating or… maybe she should ask and forget all this stupid worrying over it.

"Hey, can I call you Aoshi?"

It hadn't been what she meant to ask; somehow it had just slipped out first. No one ever accused her of having too much self control.

The look on his face, though, was surprise. It was an odd look for a guy always so composed. Had it been too early to ask? Should she apologize for her apparent lack of tact? Maybe they hadn't known each other long enough for that kind of familiarity? Shinomori was kind of a formal guy and…

"Yes."

Maybe it wasn't too early? Then why the surprise? She didn't understand him at all…

"I need a disclaimer on me but you… you Aoshi-san; you need an owner's manual. There's a serious lack of communication happening here." She wanted to make a loopy hand motion with both hands but his grip on her prevented that.

Yeah, he was still holding her hand and though her palm was getting kind of sweaty, it was kind of nice. They never paused in their journey.

"There's another video store down this way."

Oh? Was he going to help her find her game? Did he want to play with her? Her hand tightened in his.

"Whoo hoo!"

Into another store, another search. Aoshi, to her surprise, was reluctant to let go of her hand and ultimately refused to do so forcing her to drag him along with her. She didn't really mind, but… the confusion was growing. Was this leading somewhere?

Catching sight of the Cloud 9 box cover in the display case, she leapt up and down, spun on her heel and then promptly tackled her escort into a huge joyous, swaying kind of hug. If she noticed how tense he was and then his awkward kind of return pat on the shoulder, she gave no indication of it. That time, she managed to pull her hand away and grab a salesperson.

On their way out the door, Misao clutched her bag in happiness, petting it.

"Are you going home now, Makimachi-san?"

"Don't call me that." The tone was more snappish than she'd meant and she looked up. "I mean, just call me Misao. Do you want to play? It's lots of fun."

She could tell by the hesitation that he was going to say no. It was sort of a look that she couldn't explain in words. She decided not to accept that answer.

"I am a video warrior!" she proclaimed. "I'm such a good one that I can make you one too. Come on! Play with me!"

One of them reached for the other though they weren't sure which and they were off again, hands entwined. Misao laughed loudly, not noticing, not caring about all the looks she got on her way out of the wall. She laughed and talked and held her precious package close the entire way.

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AN: Well only like 40 themes or so to go. Not exactly what I wanted, but maybe not a complete waste. 


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